Across Brevard County, Muslim families will begin gathering in mosques to mark the start of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, even as images of war in Syria, Yemen and deadly protests in Gaza dominate the world's attention.

"It's tough to be a Muslim in the Middle East right now. In Syria, you have some six million refugees, in Yemen, you have war," said Raed Alshaibi, spokesman for the Islamic Society of Brevard mosque in south Melbourne.

“In the U.S., we are fortunate but many of us are think of our relatives. (Ramadan) is about self-reflection, being at peace, contemplating on the blessings we have received. It’s hard to reflect on the blessings and then think about our brothers suffering, our cousins sufferings,” he said.

Ramadan, a month of fasting from food and drinks during the daytime hours for Muslims, is marked with nightly feasting, called the iftar, and special recitations of the Quran as revealed to the Prophet Muhammad 1,400 years ago. The month-long holiday is based on the sighting of the moon and begins Thursday for the nation's estimated 3.4 million Muslims in the U.S.

“Ramadan reminds us of the richness Muslims add to the religious tapestry of American life,” Trump said.

“In the United States, we are all blessed to live under a Constitution that fosters religious liberty and respects religious practice.”

In Brevard, about 800 people attend the mosque in Melbourne, many with connections across the globe. The president’s calls for peace, are tempered by what Alshaibi said were the bloody protests in Gaza that coincided with the opening of the American embassy in Jerusalem.

Trump broke with decades of established U.S. foreign policy and decided to move the embassy to the city, claimed by both Israelis and Palestinians as their capital. Alshaibi was born in Nablus, a city located north of Jerusalem in Palestinian territory. For him, the prayers will be for fellow Muslims worldwide to worship in peace during the holy month and beyond.

“With peace, that region, the Middle East would flourish. It would be so good,” Alshaibi said, adding he was struck by the juxtaposition of celebrations of the embassy’s opening and the protests that left over 60 Palestinians killed on the Israeli border with Gaza.

“I really hope that one day, we can find solutions to all of these problems.”